Luke Pauling, a junior at Appleton West High School, recently launched a website called NewFeets.com to begin his entrepreneurial journey and raise money for a charity that brings clean water around the globe.
Luke has gone through the last few years of his life with the ambition to create a successful online business, and decided that now was the time to make it happen. He scrambled together the cash needed to start up his business and now owns 1000 pairs of socks, which he is able to sell via a small website that he created himself. In addition to making money, Luke also hopes to donate a large sum of money to Water.org in the near future so that he can help millions of people who still have no access to clean drinking water.
“I don’t want my business to be all about maximizing profits” explained Luke. “Even if this business doesn’t take off, I want to be able to recoup my investment and still donate a portion of my sales to those who need it.”
Growing up, Luke has always been interested in seeing the world. His dad would tell him stories of traveling to Europe and India for work. Luke looks to develop his brand of socks around traveling and adventure, which makes water.org a perfect fit for his brand’s image.
Luke’s mother, Donna, has been supportive of Luke’s decision to invest his savings on socks, even though it sounded ‘ludicrous’ to her at first. She knows it will be a learning experience for him, whether he succeeds or fails.
“My son has been interested in creating a business ever since his middle school days,” says Donna. “His first attempt at business involved purchasing stink bombs for resale. It ended pretty quickly when one of his friends let one go in the school cafeteria. He is learning that oftentimes you need to work through some failed attempts and experiences before you finally achieve success.”
Luke looks to slowly expand his company New Feets by reaching out to influencers on social media and selling in local farmers’ markets to help establish his business locally.
Check out New Feets:
